While both Dean Barker and Grant Dalton are good media spokespeople, there is some media training advice they must take if they want Government funding for the next three years.
They need a consistent and credible 3-point media message to use when pushing for Government funding. This is vital. It needs to be clear and repeated so the public get in behind them.
From a media training perspective, they haven’t done this well. For example, when talking to Campbell Live the other night, Barker answered the question: “Why should the Government keep funding you,” with something like, “If we don’t get the funding soon, it will be too late.”
That may be true, but it’s not the right message to send to someone living in poverty who thinks the money should be spend on them.
From my understanding, during the last campaign, the Government earned more in GST returns from Team New Zealand than the money they put in. So they made a profit.
That needs to form the basis of the media message. Then no-one can complain. This is where media training skills are so important. Team New Zealand have been getting lots of publicity since San Francisco. But they haven’t made the most of it.
By not having a focused and credible media message that everyone uses, they have lost opportunities to put a valid case to both the public and the Government.
Both Dalton and Barker possess good media training skills. But without the right message to communicate, these skills can lose their impact.

Pete is a leading New Zealand media trainer and regular blogger for his company, Media Training NZ . He has helped leaders from all sectors of society communicate with the media and other stakeholders. Pete is a former daily newspaper reporter and press secretary in the New Zealand government. From these roles, he understands the media process from both sides of the camera.